Proxy registration and authentication for personal electronic devices

ABSTRACT

Communication systems, media, and methods for authenticating and registering unauthenticated electronic devices are provided. The communication systems include authorized electronic devices that proxy authentication and registration for one or more unauthenticated electronic devices. The unauthenticated electronic devices connect to the authenticated electronic device over a personal area network and initiate a communication session—via the authenticated electronic devices—with an authentication server located on a secure broadband wireless network that connects the one or more authenticated electronic devices. When the authentication server authorizes the unauthenticated electronic devices to access the secure broadband wireless network, network configuration data is communicated to the unauthenticated electronic devices via the authenticated electronic devices.

RELATED CASES

This patent application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/668,655 that was filed on Jan. 30, 2007 and that is entitled“PROXY REGISTRATION AND AUTHENTICATION FOR PERSONAL ELECTRONIC DEVICES.”U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/668,655 is hereby incorporated byreference into this patent application.

INTRODUCTION

Conventionally, a mobile device is manually configured by a wirelesssubscriber or a technician to access wireless services on a cellularnetwork. Prior to using the mobile device, the wireless subscriber ortechnician provisions the mobile device with cellular network accessinformation and billing identifiers. The wireless subscriber ortechnician performs a manual configuration of the mobile device.Normally, the manual configuration includes: powering of and powering onthe mobile device and entering various network codes and mobile devicecodes when the mobile device is in a setup mode. When the wirelesssubscriber receives a new mobile device or upgrades the mobile device,the manual configuration process is repeated.

Manual configuration of the mobile device is an error-prone procedurebecause manual configuration relies heavily on human intervention. Humanintervention during the manual configuration process increases theprobability that invalid network configuration or billing information issupplied to the mobile device. Also, manual configuration is wastefulwhere duplicate steps are taken when the wireless subscriber upgradesthe mobile device or when a group of mobile devices belong to a singlewireless subscriber is configured. Each mobile device in the group ofmobile devices belonging to the single subscriber is individually andseparately provisioned with the network configuration or billinginformation.

Thus, a need arises for a provisioning system that reduceshuman-intervention and duplicative configurations during deviceconfigurations and that solves other problems associated with manualconfiguration.

SUMMARY

The present invention is defined by the claims below. Embodiments of thepresent invention solve at least the above problems by providingcommunication systems, media, and methods for, among other things,automatically provisioning an electronic with network access and billinginformation. The present invention has several practical applications inthe technical arts including registering unauthenticated electronicdevices using authenticated electronic devices with prior networkauthorization, authenticating the unauthenticated electronic devices viathe authenticated electronic devices, and adjusting account data toreflect services provided to unauthenticated electronic devices andauthenticated electronic devices that are associated with a networksubscriber.

In a first aspect, a set of computer-useable instructions provide amethod of authenticating an unauthenticated electronic device via anauthenticated electronic device. The unauthenticated electronic devicepolls for authenticated electronic device that are within a predefineddistance of the unauthenticated electronic device. After theauthenticated electronic device is located, network configurationrequests are transmitted from the unauthenticated electronic device.When an authenticated electronic device that is within the predefineddistance, is operating in a proxy mode, identifiers corresponding to theunauthenticated electronic device are transmitted to the authenticatedelectronic. However, when the authenticated electronic device is notoperating in the proxy mode, a request to switch the authenticatedelectronic device to proxy mode is generated by the unauthenticateddevice. Once the identifiers are received by the authenticated device,the unauthenticated device may be authenticated to access a wirelessnetwork based on the identifiers.

In a second aspect, one or more tangible computer-readable media havingcomputer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a methodof registering an unauthenticated electronic device via an authenticatedelectronic device is provided. Identifiers corresponding to anunauthenticated electronic device are transmitted from an authenticatedelectronic device to an authentication sever. In turn, theauthentication server checks a device database to locate an entry forthe identifiers associated with unauthorized electronic device. When theidentifiers are not in the device database, the authentication servergenerates an indication to deny access to the unauthorized electronicdevice. Otherwise, when the identifiers are in the device database, theunauthenticated electronic device is authenticated and registered with anetwork access account corresponding to the authenticated electronicdevice.

In a third aspect, a communication system to connect an unauthenticatedelectronic device to a wireless network is provided. The communicationsystem includes authenticated and unauthenticated electronic devices.The authenticated electronic devices proxy network access requests forunauthenticated electronic devices over a personal area network thatconnects the unauthenticated electronic device to the authenticatedelectronic devices. The unauthenticated electronic devices areauthenticated by an authentication server based on identifiersassociated with the unauthenticated electronic devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

Illustrative embodiments of the present invention are described indetail below with reference to the attached drawing figures, which areincorporated by reference herein and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a network diagram that illustrates an exemplary operatingenvironment, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a network diagram that illustrates further details of asegment of the exemplary operating environment of FIG. 1, according toan embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a logic diagram that illustrates a method to authenticate anunauthenticated electronic device via an authenticated electronicdevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 4 is a logic diagram that illustrates a method to register anunauthenticated electronic device via an authenticated electronicdevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide communication systems,media and methods for reducing human intervention when configuring anelectronic device to access a communication network. A subscriber to acommunication network may authenticate, register, and configure a secondelectronic device using a first electronic device that is authorized toaccess the communication network. Because the first electronic device isalready authenticated, registered and configured to access thecommunication network, the first electronic device may authenticate thesecond electronic device by proxy. Accordingly, the second electronicdevice may be granted access to the communication network without havingto contact a technician, who performs complicated programming on thesecond electronic device to configure the second electronic device toaccess the communication network.

In certain embodiments, utilizing the first electronic device toauthenticate, register, and configure the first device by proxy mayreduce server complexity, increase security in the communicationnetwork, and increase subscriber satisfaction. The complexity of theauthentication server may be reduced, in a communication system wherethe first electronic device proxies authentication requests ofsubsequent electronic devices, and the authentication server focuses onauthenticating the first electronic device and ensuring the integrity ofthe first electronic device. Once the first electronic device isauthorized, workload for the authentication server may be reduced bychaining subsequent devices to the authorized first electronic device.Security in the communication network may increase because sensitive keyidentifiers may no longer be disclosed to the subscriber. Subscribersthat attempt to configure subsequent electronic devices to access thecommunication network may experience savings in the time needed toconfigure subsequent electronic devices because authentication,registration and configuration are performed through the firstauthorized electronic device corresponding to the subscriber. The numberor human errors introduced during, authentication, registrations, orconfiguration may be reduced because the first electronic deviceperforms these function by proxy. Thus, embodiments of the presentinvention may provide a reduction in cost and errors associated withelectronic device setup.

Computer-readable media include both volatile and nonvolatile media,removable and nonremovable media, and contemplates media readable by adatabase, a switch, and various other network devices. Network switches,routers, and related components are conventional in nature, as are meansof communicating with the same. By way of example, and not limitation,computer-readable media comprise computer-storage media andcommunications media.

In certain embodiments, a communication system enables anunauthenticated electronic device to proxy registration, authentication,and configuration via an authenticated electronic device to gain accessto a communication network. The communication system may manage anaccount associated with a subscriber that operates the authenticated andunauthenticated electronic devices. When the unauthenticated electronicdevice is successfully authorized to access the communication network,the communication system automatically updates the account to reflectnetwork usage associated with the unauthenticated electronic device andauthenticated electronic device associated with the subscriber.

FIG. 1 is a network diagram that illustrates an exemplary operatingenvironment 100, according to an embodiment of the present invention.The operating environment 100 includes, but is not limited to, databases111 and 113, a collection of networks 110 and 120, devices 114, 115,121, and 130 connected with at least one network in the collection ofnetworks 110 and 120. The collection of networks includes, a wirelessnetwork 110 and a personal area network 120. The devices include anantennae 114, an authentication server 115, image-capture devices 121,and a wireless electronic device 130.

The wireless network 110 connects authenticated electronic devices 121or 130 to servers 115 and other electronic devices 121 or 130 that areconfigured to connect to the wireless network 110. In an embodiment ofthe present invention, a subscriber to wireless network 110 tenders amonthly fee to receive data communication service or voice communicationservices over the wireless network 110. The wireless network 110connects the antennae 114, the wireless devices 130, and theauthentication server 115. The wireless network 110 also connects thedevice database 111 and account database 113 to the authenticationserver 115. In certain embodiments, the wireless network 110 is one of acellular network, a radio frequency network, a Code Division MultipleAccess (CDMA) network, or any other type of wireless communicationnetwork. In some embodiments, the wireless network 110 may facilitatethe transfer of authentication identifiers and network access keysduring registration or configuration of an electronic device 121 or 130.An electronic device 121 or 130 that is authorized to access the network110 may authenticate, register and configure an unauthorized electronicdevice 121 or 130 via proxy.

The authentication server 115 access the account database 111 to ensurethat a subscriber associated with an authenticate device is in goodstanding, i.e., no outstanding payments. The account database 111 storesbilling data for each subscriber of the wireless network 110. Thebilling data includes, the number of authenticated electronic devicesassociated with each subscriber, electronic device identifiers, andservices—voice, data, and video—associated with each authenticatedelectronic device. When subsequent electronic devices 121 or 130 areregistered via an authenticated electronic device 130, the accountdatabase updates billing data associated with the authenticatedelectronic device 130. In some embodiments, an electronic serial numberor media access control identifier of the unauthenticated electronicdevice 121 or 130 is stored and associated with the subscriber of theauthenticated device 130. Additionally, the billing data may be updatedto include service costs that define the services associated with theunauthenticated electronic device 121 or 130 and the price for eachservice. For instance, if the unauthenticated electronic device 121 or130 requests content services, the cost for the content services isstored in the account database 111 and associated with the subscriber ofthe authenticated electronic device 130. In some embodiments, when thebilling data associated with the subscriber is updated, a message issent to the subscriber via the authenticated electronic device 130. Themessage may inform the subscriber that a subsequent electronic device121 or 130 is linked to the subscriber's account.

In some embodiments, the authentication server 115 may utilize thedevice database 113 to deny access to electronic devices 121 or 130 thatare not included in the device database 113. The device database 113contains identifiers for a collection of devices that are able toconnect to the wireless network 110. When the authentication server 115receives a request to authenticate an unauthenticated electronic device121 or 130, identifiers associated with the unauthenticated electronicdevice are utilized to traverse the device database to determine ifmatching identifiers are stored in the database. When no matchingidentifiers are found in the device database 113, the authenticationserver 115 denies access to the unauthenticated electronic device 121 or130. Otherwise, the authentication server 115 may authorize access tothe wireless network 110.

In certain embodiments, The antennae 114 enables an authenticatedelectronic device 130 to communicate with other authenticated electronicdevice 130 over the wireless network 110. The antennae receives thecommunication messages and routes the communication messages to theauthenticated electronic device 130 on the wireless network 110.

The authentication server 115 may authenticate, register, and configurethe electronic devices 121 and 130 to allow the electronic devices 121and 130 to access the wireless network 110. The authentication server115 may receive identifiers for an unauthenticated electronic device 121or 130 from an authenticated electronic device 121 and 130. Theauthentication server 115 may then update the account database 111 tolink the unauthenticated electronic device 121 or 130 to the account ofthe subscriber after the identifiers for the unauthenticated electronicdevice 121 or 130 are located in the device database 113. A subscriberthat has an authenticated electronic device 121 or 130 on the wirelessnetwork 110 may leverage the authenticated electronic device 120 or 131to authenticate other electronic device 121 and 130. For instance, asubscriber with an authenticated cell phone may utilize the cell phoneto authenticate personal video players, digital cameras, or handheldgaming systems owned by the subscriber. In some embodiments, theauthentication server 115 may require that subsequent electronic devices121 or 130 to re-authenticate via the first authenticated electronicdevice periodically, i.e., weekly or monthly. When the firstauthenticated electronic device 121 or 130 communicates with theauthentication server 115, identifiers for the subsequent electronicdevices 121 or 130 are utilized to authenticate and register thesubsequent electronic devices 121 or 130. In an embodiment of thepresent invention, the authentication server may operate on anauthenticated electronic device 130, i.e., cell phone.

The personal area network 120 may connect authenticated electronicdevices 121 and 130 to unauthenticated electronic devices 121 and 130.The personal area network 120 is a short distance network that may allowan unauthenticated electronic devices 121, i.e., image capture devicesand authenticated electronic devices 130, i.e., wireless devices tocommunicate and exchange identifiers associated with the unauthenticatedelectronic devices 121, i.e., image capture devices that are attemptingto gain access to the wireless network 110. The personal area network120 may be a Universal Serial Bus (USB), Bluetooth, or Zigbee network.In an embodiment of the present invention, communication betweenauthenticated electronic devices 121 and 130 to unauthenticatedelectronic devices 121 and 130 occurs when the devices are within apredetermined distance of each other.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the unauthenticated orauthenticated electronic devices include image capture devices 121 andwireless devices 130. The image-capture devices 121 may include digitalcameras and video cameras that capture events to create digital imagesand videos. The image-capture devices 121 may include a personal areanetwork interface that connects the image-capture devices 121 to thepersonal area network 120 and a wireless device 130. In someembodiments, that image capture devices 121 may communicate with thewireless devices 131 to receive identifier information that is utilizedfor authentication and registration.

In some embodiments, the wireless device 130 may include cell phones,personal digital assistants, and smartphones that provide mobile voicecapabilities to a subscriber. The wireless device 130 may include apersonal area network interface that connects to the personal areanetwork 120 and a wireless network interface that connects to thewireless network 110. The wireless devices 130 periodically receivesauthentication requests from unauthenticated electronic devices 121 or130 over the personal area network. In turn, the wireless device 130 mayproxy the authentication request to the authentication server 115. Thewireless device 130 may receive configuration information from theauthentication server 115 after the authentication request issuccessfully processed. The wireless device 130 may proxy theconfiguration information to the unauthenticated electronic device,which utilizes the configuration information to access the wirelessnetwork 110.

One of ordinary skill in the art appreciates and understands that theexemplary operating environment 100 has been simplified and thatalternate arrangement fall within the scope and spirit of the abovedescription.

In an embodiment of the present invention the authenticated electronicdevices provide the unauthenticated electronic devices withconfiguration information that enables access to a wireless network. Theconfiguration information is sent from the authentication server to theauthenticated electronic device after the identifiers associated withthe unauthenticated electronic device is located in a device database.The authenticated electronic devices transfer the configurationinformation over the personal area network to the unauthenticateddevice.

FIG. 2 is a network diagram that illustrates further details of asegment of the exemplary operating environment of FIG. 1, according toan embodiment of the present invention. The segment includes an antennae114, an authentication server 115, an image capture device 121, and awireless device 130.

The image capture device 121 and wireless device 130 both includepersonal area network interfaces that connect the image capture device121 and wireless device 130 to the persona area network 120. The imagecapture device 121 and wireless device 130 exchange configuration andidentifiers over the communication network. In some embodiments, thewireless device 130 is an authenticated electronic device that isassociated with a subscriber and the image capture device 121 is anunauthenticated electronic device. The wireless device 130 may receiveauthentication requests that include identifiers associated with imagecapture device 121. The wireless device 130 may transmit theauthentication requests received from the image capture device 121 overthe antennae 114 to the authentication server 115.

The authentication server 115 receives the identifiers associated withthe image capture device 121 and processes the identifiers to determinewhether the image capture device should be granted access to thewireless network. In an embodiment, the identifier include media accesscontrol identifiers and electronic serial numbers. In some embodiments,the identifiers may be associated with watches, electronic ties, or anyother unauthenticated electronic device configured with a personal areanetwork interface that allows the unauthenticated electronic device tocommunicate with an authenticated electronic device over the personalarea network.

The wireless device 130 is an electronic device that may operate in aproxy mode to authenticate the unauthenticated electronic devices, i.e.,image capture devices 121. In proxy mode the wireless device 130transfers the identifiers associated with the unauthenticated electronicdevices to the authentication server 115. For instance, a subscriberwith an authenticated electronic device may connect unauthenticatedelectronic devices to the authenticated electronic device for proxyauthentication and registration. The authentication of unauthenticatedelectronic devices would occur by sharing electronic serial numbers orother unique identifiers over the personal area network to theauthenticated electronic device, which would transmit the identifiers tothe authentication server 112 for validation and registration. Once, theidentifier are validated by a device database, the unauthenticatedelectronic devices are registered with a subscriber account associatedwith the authenticated electronic device. In turn, the authenticationserver 115 provides network access provisioning information that mayenable the unauthenticated electronic devices to connect to the wirelessnetwork. The authenticated electronic device receives the network accessprovisioning information and transmits the network access provisioninformation to the unauthenticated electronic devices. In someembodiment the network access provisioning information include preferredroaming lists that include alternate network frequencies, one-time shiftkeying logic which provides encrypted keys that are utilized to accessthe wireless network, and other provisioning information. Once theunauthenticated electronic device is configure with the network accessprovisioning information over the personal area network, theunauthenticated electronic devices resets and connects to the wirelessnetwork

In certain embodiments, a subscriber may be prevented from authorizingto many devices, by limiting the number of unauthenticated electronicdevices that can be associated with an account or by limiting a timeperiod associated with the network access provisioning information ofthe unauthenticated electronic devices. A subscriber may be limited togranting wireless network access to a specified number ofunauthenticated electronic devices. Once the threshold number ofunauthenticated electronic devices is reached, the subscriber may beprohibited from granting access to other unauthenticated electronicdevices. Additionally, the network access provisioning information sentto unauthenticated electronic devices may expire within a specified timeperiod, i.e., 7 days. Thus a subscriber may have to re-authenticate aunauthenticated electronic devices after the specified time periodexpires. These limits are imposed on the system to prevent a subscriberfrom abusing the proxy authentication system. For instance, thesesecurity features may prevent a subscriber from granting wirelessnetwork access to a large community of users through a single subscriberaccount.

Embodiments of the present invention, provide computer-implementedmethods for authenticating and registering unauthenticated electronicdevices that have personal area network interfaces. The unauthenticatedelectronic devices are placed in an authentication mode that cause theunauthenticated electronic devices to poll for authenticated electronicdevices that are within a predefine distance. Once the authenticatedelectronic devices are located, identifier information is transmitted tothe authenticated electronic devices. In turn, the authenticatedelectronic devices authenticates, registers, and returns configurationinformation to the unauthenticated electronic devices that are validatedby an authentication sever, and the validated unauthenticated electronicdevice is granted network access.

FIG. 3 is a logic diagram that illustrates a method to authenticate anunauthenticated electronic device via an authenticated electronicdevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step310, the unauthenticated electronic device polls for an authenticatedelectronic device that is within predetermined distance. In step 320,after locating the an authenticated electronic device, a networkconfiguration request is transmitted to the authenticated electronicdevice. In step 330, a check is made to determine whether theauthenticated electronic device is in proxy mode. If the authenticatedelectronic device is in proxy mode, identifiers for the unauthenticatedelectronic device are transmitted to the authenticated electronicdevice, in step 340. In turn, the unauthenticated electronic device isauthenticated, by an authentication server, based on identifiers for theunauthenticated electronic device via the authenticated electronicdevice, in step 460. If the authenticated electronic device is not inproxy mode, a request is made to switch the device to proxy mode, instep 350 and control jumps to step 310 to locate an authenticatedelectronic device.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the authentication severprocesses the identifiers and updates the account database when theidentifiers are associated with a valid device electronic device. Theaccount database is updated to include the services and identifiers ofan unauthenticated electronic device. An entry associated with anauthenticated electronic that provided the identifier information of theto the unauthenticated electronic device to the authentication serverdevice is modified to monitor the network usage by the unauthenticatedelectronic device when the unauthenticated electronic device isconfigured with the network access provision information.

FIG. 4 is a logic diagram that illustrates a method to register anunauthenticated electronic device via an authenticated electronicdevice, according to an embodiment of the present invention. In step410, the authentication server receives identifiers corresponding to theunauthenticated electronic device. In step 420, the authenticationserver, checks a device database to locate an entry for the identifiersassociated with unauthorized electronic device. When the identifiers arenot in the device database, the authentication server generates anindication to deny access to the unauthorized electronic device, in step430. When the identifiers are in the device database, the authenticationserver authenticates the unauthenticated electronic device and registersthe unauthenticated electronic device with a network access accountcorresponding to the authenticated electronic device, in step 440.

Many different arrangements of the various components depicted, as wellas components not shown, are possible without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention. Embodiments of the present inventionhave been described with the intent to be illustrative rather thanrestrictive. Alternative embodiments will become apparent to thoseskilled in the art that do not depart from its scope. A skilled artisanmay develop alternative means of implementing the aforementionedimprovements without departing from the scope of the present invention.

It will be understood that certain features and subcombinations are ofutility and may be employed without reference to other features andsubcombinations and are contemplated within the scope of the claims. Notall steps listed in the various figures need be carried out in thespecific order described.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method of operating a communicationsystem comprising: in a wireless cellular network, wirelessly exchangingvoice and data with an authenticated wireless communication device; inthe wireless cellular network, determining if the authenticated wirelesscommunication device is operating in a proxy mode; when theauthenticated wireless communication device is operating in the proxymode, wirelessly receiving an access request from the authenticatedwireless communication device that indicates an identity of anunauthenticated wireless communication device; when the authenticatedwireless communication device is not operating in the proxy mode,wirelessly receiving a request to switch the authenticated wirelesscommunication device to the proxy mode and wirelessly receiving anaccess request from the authenticated wireless communication device thatindicates the identity of the unauthenticated wireless communicationdevice; in a server system, processing the access request to determinewhen a threshold number of allowable unauthenticated devices is reachedfor the authenticated wireless communication device, and when thethreshold number is not reached, storing the identity of theunauthenticated wireless communication device for subsequent wirelesscellular network access; and in the wireless cellular network,wirelessly exchanging data with the unauthenticated wirelesscommunication device responsive to the stored identity of theunauthenticated wireless communication device.
 2. The method of claim 1further comprising, in the server system, automatically updating anaccount for the authenticated wireless communication device to reflectthe wireless data exchange with the unauthenticated wirelesscommunication device.
 3. The method of claim 2 wherein automaticallyupdating the account for the authenticated wireless communication devicecomprises defining the wireless data service provided to theunauthenticated wireless communication device.
 4. The method of claim 3wherein automatically updating the account for the authenticatedwireless communication device comprises defining a cost of the wirelessdata service provided to the unauthenticated wireless communicationdevice.
 5. The method of claim 4 further comprising in the wirelesscellular network, wirelessly transferring a message to the authenticatedwireless communication device indicating the wireless data serviceprovided to the unauthenticated wireless communication device.
 6. Themethod of claim 1 wherein the authenticated wireless communicationdevice comprises a smart-phone.
 7. The method of claim 1 wherein theunauthenticated wireless communication device comprises a cell phone. 8.The method of claim 1 wherein the unauthenticated wireless communicationdevice comprises a video player.
 9. The method of claim 1 wherein theunauthenticated wireless communication device comprises a camera. 10.The method of claim 1 wherein the unauthenticated wireless communicationdevice comprises a gaming system.
 11. A communication system comprising:a wireless cellular network configured to wirelessly exchange voice anddata with an authenticated wireless communication device; the wirelesscellular network configured to wirelessly receive an access request fromthe authenticated wireless communication device that indicates anidentity of an unauthenticated wireless communication device when theauthenticated wireless communication device is operating in a proxy modeor to wirelessly receive a request to switch the authenticated wirelesscommunication device to the proxy mode and wirelessly receive the accessrequest from the authenticated wireless communication device thatindicates the identity of the unauthenticated wireless communicationdevice when the authenticated wireless communication device is notoperating in the proxy mode; a server system configured to process theaccess request to determine when a threshold number of allowableunauthenticated devices is reached for the authenticated wirelesscommunication device, and when the threshold number is not reached, tostore the identity of the unauthenticated wireless communication devicefor subsequent wireless cellular network access; and the wirelesscellular network is configured to wirelessly exchange data with theunauthenticated wireless communication device responsive to the storedidentity of the unauthenticated wireless communication device.
 12. Thecommunication system of claim 11 wherein the server system is furtherconfigured to automatically update an account for the authenticatedwireless communication device to reflect the wireless data exchange withthe unauthenticated wireless communication device.
 13. The communicationsystem of claim 12 wherein the server system is configured to define thewireless data service provided to the unauthenticated wirelesscommunication device.
 14. The communication system of claim 13 whereinthe server system is configured to define a cost of the wireless dataservice provided to the unauthenticated wireless communication device.15. The communication system of claim 14 wherein the wireless cellularnetwork is configured to wirelessly transfer a message to theauthenticated wireless communication device indicating the wireless dataservice provided to the unauthenticated wireless communication device.16. The communication system of claim 11 wherein the authenticatedwireless communication device comprises a smart-phone.
 17. Thecommunication system of claim 11 wherein the unauthenticated wirelesscommunication device comprises a cell phone.
 18. The communicationsystem of claim 11 wherein the unauthenticated wireless communicationdevice comprises a video player.
 19. The communication system of claim11 wherein the unauthenticated wireless communication device comprises acamera.
 20. The communication system of claim 11 wherein theunauthenticated wireless communication device comprises a gaming system.